An Appraisal of Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Guaranteeing Mine-Host Communities’ Right to Food in the ICGLR Sub-Region: Part I

The ICGLR sub-region is naturally endowed with plenty of resources such as waters, forests and minerals. Such resources present a great potential to contribute towards local communities’ (mine-host communities) well-being when properly harnessed. Minerals for example which are finite by nature calls for robust legal and institutional framework if at all Mine-host communities (MHCs) are to benefit from them. Inversely however, mining is shown to plunge MHCs into poverty vicious cycle through steering civil unrest, military coup detat and massive displacement that triggers food insecurity concerns. Minerals instead of contributing towards their socio-economic advancement are instead contributing to human rights violation, in particular the right to food. This work is a product of desk review of primary documents such as; international conventions, protocols, declarations, case laws and sporadic reference to state laws. As such, the study confined itself to the ICGLR framework where protocols and declarations relevant to mineral resources, land and good governance are reviewed. Also, the study randomly picks and refers to domestic laws of respective ICGLR member states in framing up arguments. Review of primary documents is complimented by a qualitative review and analysis of secondary documents such as; journal articles, books, newspaper articles, internet sources to name but a few. The review and analysis presented in themes in this paper finds that weak legal framework in the ICGLR sub-region is contributory to gross violation of MHCs right to food. The study recommends for reforms of the ICGLR legal framework with the view to maximize the guarantee of MHCs’ right to food.